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Introduction: The accident of falling from a height is high among construction workers. Construction workers do not use harnesses. Thus, the present study was conducted to identify the factors affecting the non-use of harnesses among construction workers in Tehran, Iran. Materials and methods: In this study was conducted by interviewing professors and construction workers in order to identify factors affecting the non-use of harness. Factors influencing the non-use of safety harnesses were identified from the workers' point of view. The obtained data were classified and coded using MAXQDA 10 software. After that, the most essential, effective and powerful factors were identified using the degree and intersectionality of social network analysis. Results: According to the interview results, 27 factors were determined as factors affecting the non-use of harnesses by construction workers and divided into four main groups. The four groups were harness design, management factors, harness comfort, and attitudinal factors. Based on the results of the degree centrality, the non-ergonomic design and attitude of the harness inefficiency were identified as the most influential and powerful factors. The betweenness indicator also showed that the non-ergonomic design could mediate other factors in the non-use of the harness. Conclusion: The findings showed that by considering various factors such as considering more comfort in the design of the ergonomic harness, it produced a better product. Also, the use of safety harnesses by workers increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the root causes of accidents and the responsibility rates of the parties involved in those accidents. For this purpose, 20 important accidents of an automotive company were selected and the root causes, the parties involved in the accidents and the respective responsibility rates were determined by 10 experts based on dividing into 11 Tripod Beta basic risk factors and using occupational accident tree analysis (OATA) and occupational accident component analysis (OACA) techniques. The results revealed that among the defects in the management system, the organizational system's defects had the greatest impact on the occurrence of occupational accidents. By modifying about half of the basic risk factors, 80% of occupational accidents can be controlled. Also, by focusing on monitoring and design units, the company's accidents can be reduced by up to 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many accidents always happen in the electricity distribution sector, which requires the use of control strategies in this field. Therefore, this study presented a risk assessment method based on a fuzzy Bayesian network (FBN) and William Fine method in low-voltage power distribution systems to reduce the structural uncertainties of the studies and examined the reliability of these systems to achieve proper performance in emergencies. The first step is to develop a fault tree (FT) and event tree (ET) in bow tie (BT) format. In this study, fuzzy theory and expert judgment were used to qualitatively analyze the root events affecting the system failure and determine the relevant probabilities. Then, deductive and inductive reasoning was done after determining the likelihood of basic events (BEs) and establishing the Bayesian network (BN). Then, the final risk was estimated using William Fine's method and fuzzy logic. The results of a case study in a low-voltage power distribution system showed that there were 36 BEs and 20 intermediate events (IEs) for system failure, and the reliability of the system was obtained as 0.96654476 and 0.96654476 based on the FT and FBN, respectively. According to the results of BE25 (no installation of the earth) and BE18 (contact of metal objects with the live wire), the most critical events were based on FBN. The results showed that FBN simulation and its combination with static methods such as BT and William Fine provide a suitable method for the accurate identification of distribution systems. Therefore, the approach of the present study can help the decision makers and analysts of the electricity industry to prevent possible failures due to system changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety training programs play an effective role in reducing diseases and accidents during working. The purpose of this study was comprehensive safety training planning for the gas pipeline construction industry, and investigation of its effectiveness in a pilot project. For this purpose, in an interventional research study (before and after), a risk-based training needs assessment was performed. Afterwards, a comprehensive training program was developed and implemented based on this assessment. After 6 months of implementing this training program, its effectiveness was assessed using three questionnaires and 19 checklists. Comparison of scores before and after the training showed that the changes made in all cases were significant. Therefore, comprehensive training planning and its implementation based on the hazards of the workplace and the level of risk in the construction of pipelines play an effective role in increasing safety knowledge, perceptions, attitude and behavior of workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: One of the important indicators of patient safety and quality of hospital care is the patient's fall. Patient falls are among the most crucial issues in the field of Never Events that will affect the health-care systems, and it is necessary to be considered to improve the safety of hospitalized patients. The present study was conducted to investigate the reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) in Iran. Methods: In this prospective observational study, the reliability of the MFS was investigated through the inter-rater reliability. The researcher as the first evaluator and an experienced nurse as the second evaluator screened 180 patients in two educational hospitals in Tehran, Iran, between March and May 2021, using the access method with a MFS. The percentage of agreement of the evaluators was assessed using the Cohen's kappa coefficient, and sensitivity and specificity were assessed using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: The results showed that the percentages of agreement between the two assessors in the patient fall history index, in the index of secondary diagnoses, in the index of assistive devices, in the index of IV therapy and heparin lock, in the index of gait/transferring, and in the index of mental status were 0.869, 0.916, 0.871, 1.00, 0.898, and 0.815, respectively. The MFS reliability was obtained by an interclass correlation coefficient of 0.825, sensitivity of 66.7, and specificity of 81.6. Conclusion: The reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of the Morse scale are relatively favorable. Therefore, it is suggested that a patient fall screening scale be designed to measure all dimensions related to the correct assessment of the patient in terms of clinical conditions and nonclinical factors related to patient fall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Occupational contact with blood and body fluids poses a significant risk to healthcare workers. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the epidemiology and risk factors affecting needlestick injuries (NSI) in healthcare personnel in Iran. Methods: In March 2020, researchers studied six international databases such as Medline/PubMed, ProQuest, ISI/WOS, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar for English papers and two Iranian databases (MagIran and SID) for Persian papers. Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist was used to assess quality of studies. The method of reporting was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Results: A total of 43 articles were included in the analysis. Results showed that females (OR = 1.30, 95 % CI 1.06–1.58, P value = 0.009), younger age (OR = 2.75, 95 % CI 2.27–3.33, P value < 0.001, rotated shift workers (OR = 2.16, 95 % CI 1.47–3.15, P value < 0.001), not attending training courses (OR = 1.30, 95 % CI 1.07–1.56, P value = 0.006), working in the surgery ward (OR = 1.83, 95 % CI 1.33–2.50, P value < 0.001), less work experience (OR = 1.43, 95 % CI 1.04–1.95, P value = 0.025) apposed a greater risk factors for NSI among healthcare workers. Conclusion: Based on the results of this review, factors such as young age, less work experience, work shift, and female gender are considered as strong risk factors for NSI injury in Iran. Preventive measures including education programs can reduce the burden of NSI among healthcare personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vulnerability of employees of different occupations from the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Iran was assessed using an innovative index. The vulnerability index was developed in five steps as follows: (1) determining the principles and components of employees' susceptibility and resilience, (2) weighting the principles and components, (3) converting the levels of components to the sub-index values, (4) introducing the aggregation functions, and (5) characterizing the vulnerability index values in five categories as very high (80–100), high (65–79), medium (50–64), low (30–49), and very low (0–29). The average values of susceptibility, resilience, and vulnerability index of the employees were determined to be 35.2 ± 15.0, 73.9 ± 17.0, and 32.9 ± 12.7, respectively. The average resilience of the employees was more desirable than their average susceptibility. The distribution of the employees into the vulnerability index categories was 46.3% for very low, 41.9% for low, 3.6% for medium, and 8.2% for high. The worst cases of susceptibility and resilience principles were exposure to contaminated surfaces (59.1 ± 22.8) and top management commitment (66.6 ± 23.1). The elderly staff (especially over 50 years old), employees with low education levels, and employees in private and self-employment sectors were significantly more vulnerable (p value < 0.01) from the COVID-19 pandemic. The principles with significant incremental effects on the vulnerability index (p value < 0.05) were respectively top management commitment (+1.78), exposure to COVID-19 patients at work (+1.36), exposure to contaminated surfaces (+0.82), installing clear shields and wearing PPE (+0.59), observance of social distancing (+0.48), and just culture (+0.22). An especial plan to support the more vulnerable employees with an emphasis on the principles with the most incremental effects on the vulnerability index can efficiently control the inequality between the employees as well as occupational transmission of the COVID-19 in Iran. • The vulnerability of employees from the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran was assessed. • The vulnerability of 8.2% of employees from the COVID-19 pandemic was high. • The worst case of susceptibility principles was exposure to contaminated surfaces. • The worst case of resilience principles was top management commitment. • The most vulnerable employees and most effective interventions were introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]